Total Guide to Franchise

About the Company / Who we are / what we do

Helping clients of all sectors and sizes from Domino’s Pizza to Longleat Safari Park to local Cafes and Hairdressers. Clients pay a monthly retainer (6 to 12 month agreements so franchisees have guaranteed recurring revenue) for branding, content, guide inclusion, listings, events, jobs, offers, competitions, email insertions and amplification on our social networks. Ad-hoc packages also sold for big cash-flow boosts.

About You / What we’re looking for in a Franchisee

Do you want to be in control of your own destiny and to have the opportunity to have the work-life balance you crave?

While a lot of the work you’ll be doing to run successful Total Guide to Franchise ends up being a combination of work and pleasure (whether meeting interesting business owners and having the satisfaction of helping them grow their business, being invited to fantastic restaurants and events to write reviews, and constantly writing about the place you live and love), you can dictate your working hours.

So, if like me, you have children you want to be there at all the important times, or want to be able to nip out for a quick surf when the waves are good or to go for a bike ride when the sun is shining. Or perhaps you're an ambitious young entrepreneur who wants the ability to pursue your hobbies while creating a solid future for yourself and having a lot of fun along the way, then you can absolutely do all of those things with a Total Guide to Franchise.

Your success comes from how hard and smart you work around these times and you're going to work effectively if you are content that you are living the life you want.

This isn't for you if you if don't have the tenacity to get out there and do what needs to be done to make it happen. If you want and expect it to all come to you and to have limitless free time then you'll be disappointed. If you don't have a hunger and drive that makes you proactively approach businesses you know will benefit from our services you won't enjoy running this business. It's not the one if you can't take rejection and you struggle to get back up after you've taken a blow. If you lack the motivation to open the laptop back up and start working again after you've put the kids to bed or you've gotten back from a meal out with friends then this isn't a franchise you should consider.

This is for you if you WANT to open your laptop up in the evening. You love where you live (or the patch you choose) if business is a passion and making a difference and helping fellow businesses thrive fills you with excitement. This is the one if you love a challenge and you're not nervous about picking up the phone to call or popping in to meet a prospect on the off-chance (you don't care if it makes you feel uncomfortable for a little while because you know you will win the business and will develop a meaningful business relationship that's going to help your clients grow. This is going to make you proud and will result in making you a big income while having the flexibility you and work-life balance you value.

Who does the Total Guide to Franchise suit?

• Individuals looking to set up their own business quickly with minimal risk and investment
• Local councils, BIDs or Chambers of Commerce looking for an all-encompassing local website which can be monetised
• Young Entrepreneurs wanting to take control of their own destiny without the constraints of a big corporate and to learn on the job with the support of an establish brand
• Parents wanting to work from home and around the kids school/childcare times
• Anyone wanting to set up their own business with interest and skills in sales, digital marketing and writing
• Those passionate and knowledgeable about the town/city or area they live

Beneficial Traits/Skills and Talents you'll have or have an interest in

• Confidence to develop your customer base - cold calling, networking, face to face meetings, sourcing and contacting prospects via social media
• Tenacity and drive to make sure you work hard and smart every day
• A flair for writing and digital content creation
• Experience of writing compelling sales emails / proposals (templates will be provided though)
• Social Media experience - Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
• Networking and building solid business relationships (having existing contacts in your patch would mean you would hit the ground running)

Training & Support

One month initial technical and business training courses, including:

• Content Management System Training
• Sales and Product Training
• Marketing and PR Training (including SEO, Social Media and PR)
• Photoshop/Design Training
• Ongoing additional ad-hoc training to develop the range of services you can provide in your business such as social media management and training
• Business Mentoring from Founder and Managing Director Liz Hutchings
• What’s App group with National Office Staff and Franchisees for ongoing support and knowledge sharing
• Franchisee and National Office Facebook group for ongoing support and knowledge sharing
• Weekly 30 min video calls with Liz or Rachael
• Site visits every six months

Financial Information

Initial investment/cost of the franchise, ongoing fees, what’s included, expected income, etc

£8,000 to £25,000 initial investment to buy the website, functionality and name (price dependent on size of patch I.e. a town the site of Newbury approx 155,000 population would be £8,000, a city the size of Manchester or Leeds would be £20-£25,000.

Licence Fees

The Licence Fee is based on 5% of your turnover.

What’s included in the Licence Fee?

Your franchise entitles you to trade under the Total Guide to name and to make use of our in-house staff, site, software, content management and IT software to build yourself a successful business that you will manage and run. You will have access to all aspects of the business, including all the marketing material, the website, newsletters, prospecting system, CRM, social media and ongoing support and training – all included. As well as selling to businesses in your location, you also have the opportunity to make even more money by cross-selling packages on the group websites.

Proven model (our first site Total Guide to Swindon had a £179k turnover and 26k profit in year 1 – during the recession!)

Total Guide to Poole went live on 24th April and had already indexed on Google with first page search engine rankings by 1st May!

A website the size of Newbury would be projected to turnover £60,000 in year one, doubling the following year.

A website the size of Manchester would be projected to turnover £120,000 in the first year doubling year on year.